Chapter 72: The Burden of Blood and Truth

Jin sat across from Arden, arms crossed, his eyes sharp with skepticism. "Let me get this straight—you want me to train in some creepy, alternate dimension where five years pass in a single day? And you expect me to come out of it without looking like a grandpa?"

Arden sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. "First of all, it's called the Black World. Where 1 day in reality = 5 years. Second, no, you won't age physically. Your body adapts. Third, if you don't, you're going to get slaughtered. You can barely keep up as it is."

Jin leaned back, rolling his eyes. "Gee, thanks for the motivational speech. Really gets my blood pumping."

Kaelros chuckled from the sidelines. "To be fair, he's not wrong. You're still struggling against him, so how will you fight with your damn father ."

"Excuse me? I'll have you know my losses are strategic." Jin jabbed a finger at him. Jin tried to cover his defeat but Kaelros was mocking him.

Arden clapped his hands together. "Enough nonsense. If you're done feeding your ego, we begin."

The world around them blurred. A cold sensation crawled up Jin's spine as his surroundings twisted into an empty void. The ground beneath him felt solid, but the sky above was endless darkness. A world frozen in time.

Jin exhaled. "Alright, old man. Let's get to work."

The first day—if it could even be called that—was hell. Arden didn't hold back. He drilled Jin relentlessly, forcing him to adapt. Every moment was filled with pain, exhaustion, and the occasional existential crisis.

"I swear, if I get out of here and everyone's five years younger than me, I'm suing someone," Jin groaned, dodging a blade of black energy.

Arden smirked. "If you can still talk, you're not training hard enough."

And so, it continued.

And so, five years passed in a single day. Then another. And another.

Jin emerged from the Black World a different man. His body honed, his mind sharpened. And in his soul, something new had taken root—an ability bestowed upon him by Arden.

"Grow," Arden had named it. A power that would evolve Jin endlessly, adapting, strengthening him in battle.

By the twentieth 'day,' Jin stood before his master, no longer the reckless fighter who had first entered. His aura was heavier, his movements more precise. The Jin who had stepped into this world was gone.

Now, he was ready.

Back in reality, mere hours had passed.

Kaelros nearly dropped his sword when he saw Jin return. "What in the fresh hell happened to you?! You look like you've seen the entire history of suffering."

Jin cracked his knuckles. "Something like that."

Kaelros gave him a file and told him. " Get ready, everyone was waiting for you. "

The meeting was grim. Jin stood with his companions, the air thick with tension. His father's plans were clear now—Velkyra was no mere name. It was an entity. A demon king capable of reshaping reality itself. If his father succeeded in summoning it, the world would burn.

Jin's expression hardened. "We end this now."

Kaelros rubbed his chin. "Sounds great and all, but have we considered… not fighting an apocalyptic entity today? Maybe reschedule for, I don't know, never?"

Lia smirked. "You sound scared."

"No, no. Just weighing our options. Like… running. Hiding. Maybe opening a bakery. I make excellent bread."

Jin rolled his eyes. "Not happening."

Lysander frowned. "Even with your power, your father is still—"

"Equal to me now. But he won't be for long." Jin turned away. "We leave at dawn."

Finally Jin and his team reached the head quarter of Demonic Cult Where many soldiers of them were ready to fight.

Jin cut through his father's followers with brutal efficiency, his comrades tearing through the battlefield with a level of power no one had seen before. The fortress fell within hours. And then, deep within the ruins, Jin stood before the man he had spent his entire life hating.

Han Jin Hyuk smiled. "So. You've come."

But Jin said nothing.The air crackled with tension as Jin stood face to face with his father, Han Jin Hyuk. The battlefield was a wasteland of shattered stone and burning ruins, the remnants of their long-awaited confrontation. No words were exchanged; they both knew there was nothing left to say.

Jin's grip tightened around his weapon, his body thrumming with unrestrained energy. Across from him, his father stood tall, eyes cold, unreadable. A storm of power swirled around them, distorting the very fabric of reality. The fight that would decide everything had begun.

Jin moved first.

He blurred forward, a sonic boom tearing through the space he once occupied. His fist, wreathed in crackling energy, lashed out with devastating force. But his father was faster. Jin Hyuk tilted his head at an impossible angle, narrowly avoiding the strike, before countering with a crushing palm strike to Jin's chest.

Jin was sent hurtling backward, crashing through rock and steel. He coughed blood but launched himself forward again without hesitation. His blade ignited with abyssal flames as he swung, the sheer heat distorting the air around it.

The clash of their weapons sent shockwaves rippling outward. The ground beneath them shattered, entire sections of the battlefield crumbling into the abyss. Each strike was a war in itself—flesh and bone clashing against sheer willpower.

Jin Hyuk smirked, his voice dripping with condescension. "You're strong. But strength without purpose is nothing."

Jin spat blood, eyes blazing. "Then I'll carve my own purpose—over your corpse."

His body pulsed with newfound rage, the abyssal energy within him surging uncontrollably. His movements became unpredictable—fluid yet erratic. He weaved through his father's defenses, striking at impossible angles. His blade finally found flesh.

A deep gash appeared across Jin Hyuk's chest. He staggered slightly but did not fall.

Instead, he grinned. "Not bad. But not enough."

Jin barely had time to react before his father unleashed a storm of attacks, each strike faster than the last. His ribs cracked, his vision blurred. The force behind each blow was beyond anything he'd ever faced.

But he refused to fall.

Drawing on the last vestiges of his power, Jin roared, his aura igniting into a brilliant inferno. He struck, his entire being pouring into one final attack. His blade cleaved through his father's defenses, piercing his chest clean through.

For the first time, Han Jin Hyuk's eyes widened in disbelief.

Blood spilled from his lips as he staggered, his body trembling. Jin held his stance, his breathing ragged, his grip unyielding.

His father coughed weakly. "So… you truly surpassed me."

Jin's hands shook, but he did not pull back. He met his father's gaze, searching for answers, for regret, for anything.

Jin Hyuk's lips curled into a faint, almost proud smile. "Well done… my son."

With one final breath, he collapsed. His life faded into the void.

Jin remained standing, his entire body numb. The battle was over.

And yet, the weight of victory was unbearable.

As the cold wind howled through the ruined battlefield, Jin sank to his knees. His hands trembled, his breath shallow. He had won. He had avenged everything.

So why did it feel like he had lost everything

The night sky stretched endlessly above, the air thick with the scent of burning embers and victory. The demonic cult had been annihilated, their influence wiped from existence, and with it, the oppressive shadow of the Ranker Association had crumbled. The war was over.

Laughter echoed through the camp, the clinking of mugs and the warmth of celebration filling the hearts of Jin's companions. They gathered around massive bonfires, the glow reflecting in their relieved yet battle-worn faces. For the first time in ages, they could breathe without the weight of war crushing their chests.

But amidst the jubilation, Jin remained in his room, untouched by the revelry outside.

His fingers trembled as he held a letter, its edges worn, as if it had been carried through time itself just to reach him. It bore no seal, no grand markings, only his name written in a hand he recognized all too well.

" Suho,

If you are reading this, then I am gone.

I never wanted you to know the truth. Because the truth is cruel. And I was weak.

You were marked for death the moment you were born. The stars had already carved your fate in stone, and I… I was told to carve that fate into your flesh with my own hands.

Gaia, the Mother of Earth, appeared before me the day you took your first breath. She told me you were an anomaly, a being who should not exist. A force so powerful that it would disrupt the cycle itself. The choice was given to me—kill my own son or Abandone my family.

I chose the coward's path. I abandoned you. Not out of hatred. Not out of indifference. But because I could not bear to watch you die by my hands.

You may never forgive me. You may curse my name until the heavens shatter. But know this—I never stopped watching over you. Every battle, every scar you bore, every triumph—you were never alone.

But I will always stay by your side. I don't know what path will you choose I will love you forever."

The letter slipped from Jin's fingers as his vision blurred. A choked breath left his lips, the weight of the words crushing him more than any battle ever had.

All this time, he had hated his father. Loathed him. Sworn to kill him for abandoning them. And yet…

Tears fell freely down his face. A silent storm raged within him, threatening to drown him in his own regrets.

Outside, the party continued. His friends sang, drank, and laughed, their burdens momentarily cast aside. But inside, Jin knelt on the cold wooden floor, clutching his chest as though trying to hold himself together.

He had won the battle. He had slain the father he despised. But in the end, he had lost something far greater.

The truth.

And the father who, despite everything, had loved him all along.